Manifolding register



Aug. 27, 1940. w. G. BoRcHERs MANIFOLDING REGISTER Filed Nov. 24, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nm www NY Aug. 27, 1940. w. G. BoRcHx-:Rs

MANIFOLDING REGISTER Filed Nov. V24, 193e s sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR v Nimm orc/Lem; BY @il ATToR Aug. 27, 1940. w. G. BoRcHERs MANIFOLDING REGISTER Filed Nov. 24, 193 '3 SheetsPSheet 3 l lNvENToR ff/Imm /zg ATTOR tions.

Patented Aug. 27, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANIFOLDING REGISTER Application November 24, 1936, Serial No. 112,511

5 Claims.

This invention relates to manifolding sales registers, such as are usually employed in stores, for recording sales by making suitable entries on forms printed on one or more strips which are stored, preferably in a zig-zag pile, in the storage compartment of the machine.

An object of the invention is: to provide a machine of the character described in which the top or cover plates, which normally close the tops of the several compartments, may be swung upward to expose andpermit unobstructed access to the interiors thereof, the cover plates being so organized that, when they are closed, the

locking of one of them will prevent all of them from being opened or tampered with.

Heretofore, in this type of machine, locking means were provided only for the compartment in which the filled-in forms to be preserved for ofiicial records of the sales-transactions are kept intact, while easily-accessible spring catches or similar devices were, and still are, in common use for retaining the writing platen and its superposed margin frame in their operative posi- In other Words, anyone could, without having to use a key, open the rear portion of the machine and thus have access to the storage compartment for the form-pile, and also to the entire feeding mechanism including the starting device, feed-rolls and other connected appurtenances.

The present invention aims to obviate and remedy that fault by making the cover organization so that an interlocking connection between the several covers will be established in such a manner that they must be closed in a particular sequence before the last or final closure may be locked by a key, and the interior of the machine cannot be tampered with.

Another object of the invention is: to provide means for checking or preventing any one cover from being closed before its predecessor is in its proper position, this means being particularly applied to the cover of the record compartment, which cover carries the lock whereby the entire machine is finally securely closed.

Still another object of the invention provides means for assuring the feed-rollers being in proper strip-gripping condition when the lock-cover is closed, the latter being directly responsible for automatically allowing the feed rollers to drop into contact with the manually operable feed disks for the form strips, even if the rollers should have been inadvertently left in non-gripping positions, improved means being also provided for leaving the operating crank after each feed operation ready for the next one without requiring any releasing action by the operator.

Other features of the invention will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan of a machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section, substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, on line 3--3 of Fig. 2. Y

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 2, but showing the cover-plates in opened and transitory positions.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation ofthe machine showing the device whereby the feedcrank is stopped at the end of each revolution and then automatically released.

Fig, 6 is a horizontal section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Figs. 7 and 8 are sections similar to Fig. 6, illustrating progressive positions of the crank and its stopping device. d

Referring rst to Fig. 2, the machine is shown innormally operative condition, and it comprises a box-like casing consisting of a bottom plate I0, front end Wall Il, rear end Wall I2, and side walls I3 and I4, respectively. They strip-feeding mechanism, indicated in a general way by M,

divides the interior of the casing into two compartments, viz: a rear compartment I5 which serves as storage room for a zig-zag pile I6 of form-strips Il, and a front compartment I8 for receiving the oiiicial copies of the filled-in sales recording forms which are to be preserved. In order to locate the pile I6 properly within its compartment I5, there are provided a pair of L-shaped partitions or gauge plates L9, secured to the bottom plate and extending fnpwardly therefrom to have their upper edges ,49' Aserve as supports for a platen 20 which may -bje made of thin metal and still be stiff enough :for its purpose, by virtue `of ,its side margins .being supported by the partitions I9. At its front edge the platen 20 is hinged bypins 2m to the front ends of a pair of links 2l whose rea-r ends` are firmly secured to a rocker-rod 22 yjournaledin vertical bearing-plates .23, 24 forming vparts of the casing structure, the rear free `end of theplaten of downwardly-bent lips 25 which rotatably support a guide-roller 26 over which the form-strips I1 are passing onto the platen 20.

It should be noted that, while the strips are represented by one dot-and-dash line I1 only, several of such strips may be employed in assembled form, in which instance carbon sheets would naturally be interleaved with the formstrips to produce copies which are duplicates of the inscriptions written upon the top form-strip when resting upon the platen 20. The interleaved carbons may be of any suitable size or form, and may be attached to hooks 28h lanced from the platen and bent-up as usual, and as is clearly shown in the drawings.

Disposed above the platen 20, is the margin-frame 21 having the writing opening 28 and provided at its rear end with hinge plates 29 whose cooperative leaves 30 are secured to the rear wall I2 of the casing. Near its front end the margin-frame 21 is adapted to rest normally on a pair of pins 3| projecting upwardly from lthe platen 20, and it also carries a housing 32 which is adapted to move in a vertical-plane arc 21o intersecting the platen arc 26C in the normal condition of the machine, entirely encloses the pressure roller 33 which forms an element of the strip-feeding mechanism M above referred to. The housing 32 also covers the superstrucvtures 23a, 24a extending upwardly from the i plates 23, 24, respectively, and being slotted vertically to receive, for vertical sliding movement therein, the ends of the roller shaft 34.

The fact that the housing 32 forms an integral part of the margin frame 21 is an important feature of the present invention, because, when said frame is swung upwardly on its rear end hinge connection 29, 38, as for instance to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, the entire pressure roller and its support will become exposed and accessible for easy assembling or dismounting of the several parts. Furthermore, inasmuch as the margin frame 21 is then entirely out of the way, the insertion of the form strips and their introduction into the bite between the pressure roll-er and its underposed feeding vdisks can be very readily accomplished. When the margin frame 21 has been raised to a position substantially as shown at 21A, the platen 2) may be also raised or swung upwardly, past the position 26A and to the limit shown at 20B, thus leaving the entire rear pile-compartment free to unobstructed access, for the purpose of removing or inserting a strip-pile. According to my present invention, the platen is hinged at its forward end, instead of its rear end, the result being: that when the platen is swung upward, the guide roller 26 is at a considerable altitude above the storage compartment and free to access from either side (upper or lower) of the platen, and consequently renders the threading-in of the form strips around the roller an easy operation. Furthermore, the hooks 20h are in a position where the carbon sheets can readily be interleaved with the work-sheets and hung onto the hooks in suspended or hanging-down position, in contradistinction to the old-way results attained when the platen is hinged at its rear end and the difficult and unhandy conditions inherent thereto are met.

When the platen 20 is in normal writing position, its front edge must necessarily be close to the bite of the feed-rollers to give proper support to kthe form strips resting on the platen. Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the front edges of the platen 2U and the links 2| project partly over the feed mechanism M, which latter comprises a crank shaft 35 journaled in the casing plates 23, 24 and provided at the outside of the casing with a manually-operable crank 36.

This shaft carries the usual feed-starting device 31 and the feeding-disks 38 with which the pressure rollers 33 cooperate in feeding one form-length of strips for each full `rotation of the shaft 35, the operation being well-known in the art.

Again referring to the overlap of the frontportion of the platen over the feed-mechanism, more particularly the disks 38 thereof, it is evident that it will be impossible to lift the shaft 35 together with its disks, out of its place in the casing, or to replace it, unless provision is made for removing the overlapping Iportion of the platen, and also to provide a passage through the stationary deflector plate 48, the latter -being cut away at three places 40a, to clear the path for the starter 31 and disks 38 when the shaft 35 is lifted out of its place. The invention therefore comprises the pivot-linkage above described and capable of assuming a clearance-position, such as indicated at 20C in Fig. 4, in which the hinge-links 2l have been swung upward around the center of the rod 22 sufficiently to afford free vertical passage of the feed-shaft 35 out of or into its proper position in the casing-plates 23, 24 for which operation it is obvious that the pressure roller 33 must be first r-emoved.

In recapitulation, the hinge-pins 2Ia can move to several positions relative to the casing, viz. (1) the normal position shown in Fig. 2, where they are controlled and fixed by virtue of the platen resting with its marginal portions on the partitions I9; (2) that shown by platenpositions 20A and 26B, in which case the platen can be swung on an arc delineated by the line 28a to leave free access to the storage compartment I5, the front edge of the platen then resting on the peripheries of the feed-disks 31; (3) that incidental to the platen-position 28C, the hinge pins having been swung from their extreme left (as per 28B) to the extreme right (as per 28C), to permit free access to the feed mechanism M.

According to the present invention, there is provided for the form-strips, as they are fed forwardly by the cooperating feed disks 38 and pressure roller 33, a thin delector-plate 40 extending across the machine and supported on a cross-bar 4I which has at its ends lips dla secured to the plates 23, 24 respectively. This defiector plate l0 is slightly bent as shown, so as to bring its free edge closely adjacent to the bite of the feed-disks and roller 33, for deflecting one or more of the upper form-strips upward and out of the machine during the feeding operation, while at least one of the duplicate formstrips is fed into the record-compartment, according to the disposal to be made of the used forms, as for instance one copy to go to the customer, and another copy to the shipping-room, both of these forms being projected out of the machine and to be severed from their strips by tearing them on a knife edge 32al provided for that purpose on the housing 32 which forms a part of the margin frame 21. Other copies of the filled-in forms may be fed into the recordcompartment, without however being severed from the strips, as at F, so as to preserve a seriatimrecord -of .the 'transactions registered by the machine.

. From the` foregoing description it will be understood that, (referring to Fig; v4) when the margin frame 21 is in its full-line position 21A, and the platen 20 has been swung-up and toward the right to the dotted line position 20C, .the associated form-strips may be pulled from the pile i6 over the guide-roller 25 and such interleaved carbon sheets as may be suspended from the hooks 28h, along the platen-top to the bite between the feeding-disks 31 and their cooperative pressure-roller 33. Now, inasmuch as the superstructures 23a, 24a of the bearing-plates 23, 24 are fully exposed, the pressure roller may be released from its usual hold-down spring (not shown) and bodily lifted-out of its place, consequently permitting the operator to easily thread the front edges-of the several strips into their proper places above and below the deector plate respectively, whereupon the pressure roller may be replaced and the platen 20 and margin frame 21 may be dropped back into their normal positions shown in Fig. 2, bringing the machine into condition for practical use, with the exception of one feature, viz: that of safe-guarding the record strips within the record-compartment I8, and simultaneously the pile in the storage compartment.

The invention, therefore, provides for the record-compartment a cover-plate i2-hinged at 43 to the front wall Il of the register-casing, and of such length that, when said cover. is closed, its rear edge will overlap the knife edge 32a (see Figs. 1 and A2) which constitutes a part of the margin-frame housing 32, this overlapping portion,y however, being cut-away to provide a passage 44 for the form-strips which are moved over the deector-plate 40 by the feed mechanism M.

It is sometimes necessary to raise the pressure roller 33 to release the grip between it and the feeding disk, and thus permit adjustment of the consolidated form-strips either transversely or longitudinally of the machine, and my invention comprises, as one of its features, a raising device which is at all times fully enclosed in the casing and therefore inaccessible when the covers of the latter are closed. form thereof shown, this device consistsof a bar 45 (see Figs. 2,y 3, .4) extending across the kma chine but located between the side-walls thereof and bent at both of its ends to forma pair of side-arms 45a which are cam-shaped at their ends and eccentrically pivoted at 46 on the outer sides of the partition plates 23, 24, the construction being such that, when the bar 45 is in its normally depressed position shown in Fig. 2, the pressure-roller 33 is cooperative with the feed disks 33 in pinching the associated strips between them, and the bar is located entirely withinthe casing. On the other hand, when the bar 45 is raised, as by a finger piece 45D, to approximatelythe position shown in Fig. 4, in which.

the pressure roller is in non-operative condition, the bar assumes a position above the upper edge of the casing walls, so that, when the compartment cover 42 is being closed, it will strike the bar 45 downwardly and thus automatically reestablish cooperative relation between the feed disk and pressure roller, a condition which cannot be altered, as long as the cover 42 yremains closed. In other words: when the cover 42 is up, the bar 45 may be raised or lowered at will; while, when cover 42 is closed, the bar 45 can only be in its depressed position.

In the preferred As above mentioned, one object ofthe invention is: to organize the covers of the compartments in such a manner, that their closing movements must be effected in a certain sequence and so that the cover which is closed as the nal one in the series, and then locked, will prevent the opening movement of any one of the other closure-elements. There exists, in fact, a definite interlock of the covers which requires a certain sequence in movements to open the casing-top completely, or/and reversely, a reversed sequence when closing the covers.

In the present invention, the platen 20 can- .not be raised, unless the margin-frame 21 is up.

Neither can the margin frame 21 be closed over the platen 20 unless the latter is down. As to the cover 42 for the record-compartment, 'that cover must first be opened before any of the other covers can be opened, because, when this cover is normally closed, its rear edge will overlap the knife or tear-off ledge 32a of the roller housing 32, and thus estop the margin-frame 21 from being riased.

Again, the cover 42 will not close automatically or cannot be closed otherwise unless all the others are closed, particular attention being now called to an automatic stop mechanism whereby the closing movement of the cover 42 will be stopped until the margin frame is down, this mechanism becoming effective immediately upon the rise of the cover 42 suflicient to permit free upward of the margin frame 21 as follows:

Pivoted at 50a to the inner face of the frontportion of the casing side`l4 is a stop lever 50 having a lower weighted end 50h which carries a pin 5I adapted to ride in a slot 52 provided for it in an actuator 53 which is pivoted at 53a, also on said casing-side I4, and preferably also weighted, as at 53h, to assist both levers in assuming the full-line positions in Fig. 4. There, it will be noted, the margin frame is shown by dot-and-dash lines 21o in a partly raised position, at any rate suflicient to allow the upper tail-end 53C of the actuator 53 to swing upward to its maximum height as limited by the leverpin 5l engaging the lower end of the actuator slot 52. At that time, the upper tail 50c of the lever 50 projects upwardly and above the upper casing-edge, also to its maximum height, as depending upon the pin-and-slot connection just described, this height being such that the cover 42 can drop only to the position indicated. by dot-and-dash lines 42A, and therefore clears the closing-swing of the margin frame 21.

Assuming that the record-compartment cover 42 is in its position 42A, stopped by the lever 50) and the margin-frame 21 is swung down, the housing ledge 32a will strike the upper end. of the actuator-tail 53e and swing it downwardly, thus also moving the lever tail 50c downwardly and permitting the cover 42 to drop over the ledge 32a, to the position shown in Fig. 1, in which position the pcover 42 may be locked, as for instance by a lock L, whose lock-arm 54 is adapted to Contact the underside of the xed bar 4l and thus prevent the cover 42 from being raised.

From the foregoing, it is evident that, by the operation of the lock in the cover 42, the register, as a whole, becomes a closed .lock-box, the interior of which is inaccessible, and whose only element accessible from the outside is the manually-operable crank 36 of the feed-shaft 35.

By referring to Fig. 4, the'` successive steps required when opening, reclosing and locking the:

SCII

The register-covers are normally in the positions shown in Fig. 2, the machine being safely locked by the record-cover 42 which carries the key-lock L. When it is desired to have access to any part of the casing-interior, the first step is always: to unlock the record-cover 42 and swing it upward to at least the position 42A, resulting in liberating the margin frame 2l so that it may be swung upwardon its edge hinge to its position 21A, or a trifle beyond it, until the limit has been reached by its rear edge 21a abutting the outer face of the rear end wall of the casing, as 21B, where it will remain of its own accord in fully-opened position. When the rear-end of the platen 26 is now raised to the position 26B, the storage compartment becomes fully exposed, so that the form-pile contained therein may be removed, and a new one substituted therefor, and the leading ends of the assembled new formstrips may be easily threaded over the guideroller 26, then interleaved with the required number of carbon-sheets (suspended on the hooks 20h) and pulled-down over the platen which may then be dropped to its normal position shown in Fig. 2. The leading end of the form-strips may now be entered into the bite between the feed disks 38 and the pressure roller 33; or, if for any reason it should be desired to have unobstructed access to the feed mechanism, the pivot end 2Ia of the platen may be swung over, in the arc 2Ia', to put the front edge of the platen out of the Way, as per position 20C, and the record-cover 42 should be raised to its full line position of Fig. 4, leaving free access to the feed mechanism and permitting easy removal and/or replacement of any parts thereof.

Supposing that the record-strips contained in the compartment I8 are to be removed, it will only be necessary to unlock and raise the cover 42 to its full line position of Fig. 4, lift the strips out and tear them ofi` in proper place, and then reclose and relock not only the cover, but incidentally the platen and its superposed margin frame against opening movement.

Of course, it should be remembered that, unless the margin frame is down to its limit, the stop lever organization 50, 53 for preventing the cover 42 from prematurely going to normal, will remain in its active position shown in Fig. 4.

In brief: The cover I2 cannot be closed and locked until the other closures are in proper operative position, and when closed and locked, those closures cannot be raised, making the entire cover organization interlocked and consequently safe, by locking only one member thereof.

In the present exemplication of the invention, the register is what is generally known as a one-revolution machine, that is to say: one

-revolution of the feed shaft will cause the feeddisk to advance the form-strips for an amount equal to one form-length which, however, must not be greater than the circumference of the feed disks. In order to arrest the crank at the rend of each revolution, there is provided on the outside of the casing-side I3 a stop illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive.

Secured to the side wall I3, in vertical alinement with and below the crank-shaft 35, is a block 60 provided with an attachment-flange 6I which may be secured to said side Wall I3 in any suitable or convenient manner. This block slidingly supports a pair of plungers 62, 63 which areV movable horizontally in the block -in opposite directions, and which have pins 62a,

register will be readily understood, as follows:

63a, respectively, passing through slots provided for them in the block 60 and projecting upwardly therefrom into engagement with the ends of a lever 64 which is centrally fulcrumed on a stud 65 held in the block. A coil-spring 66 on the stud urges the lever 64 to project the plunger 62 outwardly, and simultaneously move the plunger 63 rearwardly, to the positions shown in Figs. 6 and 7, so that when the crank 36 is manually rotated from its normal position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 to that illustrated in Fig. 7, and by dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 5, the edge of the crank-arm 36 will strike against the projecting end of the plunger 62. The outer end-face of this plunger is, however, beveled, as at B2b, so that, when the arm has reached the position of Fig. 7, and its movement in the direction of the arrow is continued, the plunger 62 will be cammed inwardly, this movement resulting in pushing the companion plunger 63 outwardly, by Virtue of the rocking movement of the lever 64. In other words: the rst plunger 62 is used merely to project the second plunger 63 outwardly (as the crank arm 36 passes the beveled end 621)) against the action of the spring 66, and directly into the path of the crank arm 36, whose movement will therefore be positively stopped by the then projecting end of the plunger 63, there being a considerable impact due to the rapidity of the crank-movement under hand-pressure, whose force is in the direction of the three arrows in Fig. 8 and suiicient to hold the plunger 63 against being returned to normal or retracted position by the spring 66.

Now, inasmuch as the width of the crank-arm 36 is less than the space between the two plungers 62, 63, the latter will be free to be returned to normal by the spring 66, as soon as the hand pressure on the crank-arm 36 is removed by the withdrawal of the operators hand from the crank which action will leave the crank in normal position ready for the next feeding operation.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A manifolding register comprising a casing having in its interior a plurality of compartments; independent covers for closing said compartments, respectively, and hinged for vertical swinging movement on said casing, the free end of one of said covers overlapping, when closed, the free end of the other cover; a locking device carried by the overlapping cover for holding the latter against opening movement; and means for preventing said overlapping cover from being closed before the other cover is in its closed position.

2. A manifolding register comprising a casing having in its interior a plurality of compartments; independent covers for closing said compartments, respectively, and hinged for vertical swinging movement on said casing, the free end 0f one of said covers overlapping, when closed, the free end of the other cover; a locking device carried by the overlapping cover for holding the latter against opening movement; and a lever for stopping said overlapping cover from closing, and operable by the full-closing movement of the other cover to withdraw said lever from its operative position.

3. A manifolding register comprising a casing having in its interior a plurality of compartments; independent covers for closing said compartments, respectively, and hinged for vertical swinging movement on said casing, the free end of one of said covers overlapping when closed the free end of the other cover; a locking device carried by the overlapping cover for holding the latter against opening movement; a lever for stopping said overlapping cover from closing, and operable by the full-closing movement of the other cover to withdraw said lever from its operative position; and an actuator for withdrawing said stop-lever from its operative position by the preceding full-closing movement of the other cover.

4. A manifolding register comprising a casing having in its interior a plurality of compartments; independent covers for closing said compartments, respectively, and hinged for vertical swinging movement on said casing, the free end of one of said covers overlapping, when closed, the free end of the other cover; a locking device carried by the overlapping -cover for holding the latter against opening movement; a lever for stopping said overlapping -cover from closing, and operable by the full closing movement of the other cover` to withdraw said lever from its operative position; and an actuator operated by the closing movement of the other cover to withdraw the stop lever from active position.

5. A manifolding register comprising a casing having in its interior a plurality of compartments; strip-feeding means disposed within the casing between the compartments, the feeding means having separable rollers; means for separating the rollers whereby the strips can be positioned therebetween; and means for covering the compartments, said means cooperating with the means for separating the rollers to return the rollers into gripping relation with the strips when the covers are closed.

WILLIAM G. BORCHERS. 

